Senior Social Worker EDRP Approved

VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Primary Purpose of the Position is: Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Senior Social Worker is an intensive case management program for Chronically Homeless Veterans aimed at conducting street outreach to Veterans who are either homeless or experiencing housing instability and substance use disorder and need case management assistance and psychotherapy to end their homelessness and harm reduction of substance abuse and connect to community based and VA-supported housing services health care and substance abuse disorder services.

The Social Worker Works within the HCHV program. The HCHV Social Worker supports the program by providing early engagement and ensuring continuity of care for Veterans between the different programs within the Comprehensive Homeless Center Programs. The incumbent provides case management services and supportive therapeutic interventions to Veterans who are on the street in the shelter and in their personal residence and provides support to them as they transition from engagement to housing stabilization. The incumbent provides outreach services in the community.

The Organizational Location of the Position is: VA North Texas Health Care System Mental Health Division Fort Worth Texas.

Duties may include but are not limited to:
The Senior Social Worker completes psychosocial assessments of the Veteran and when possible obtains input from the interdisciplinary team the Veteran and as available the Veterans family caregiver and/or significant other for collaboration of a service plan. The incumbent completes the intake and/or brief psychosocial assessments to assess the needs of the Veteran the willingness of the Veteran to participate in various services and options for care coordination. The Service Plan highlights the Veterans strengths limitations internal/external supports and service needs to optimize the Veterans functional status safely maintain the Veterans current resources and assist the Veterans return to an independent community living setting.

The incumbent works in the community in encampments under bridges at shelters and other community settings where homeless or about to become homeless Veterans gather. The incumbent will manage the walk-in clinic as assigned to provide screening and assessment.

Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. The incumbent incorporates complex multiple causations in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved scope of practice.

Assesses at-risk factors and develops a preliminary disposition plan involving the Veteran and as appropriate the Veterans family and/or significant other. Responsible for the development of an appropriate treatment plan for Veterans written in behavioral terms with measurable objectives and concrete interventions including goals for psychosocial clinical treatment.

Monitor e-consults complete assessments and make recommendations to the program assigned in addition to provide direct clinical care to Veterans struggling with homelessness strategies for housing employment mental health illness and substance use disorder. Assist Veterans by linking the Veteran to community services and routinely participates in all program meetings.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave 13 days of sick leave 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work experience or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth adoption or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment full time employees with a total family income below $144000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 56294-F

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education. Have a masters degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the masters degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
• Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the masters degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).
  
  Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.
  1. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title series and grade held including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it the following provisions apply:
  2. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification may be reassigned promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  4. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
  5. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
  
  Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker GS-12

  Licensure Requirement: You must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

  Experience Requirement: You must possess at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse neglect exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members identifying the patients strengths weaknesses coping skills and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment.

  In addition to the experience above you must demonstrate the following Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

  • Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual group and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
  • Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
  • Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
  • Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
  • Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession and to write policies procedures and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
  
  Preferred Experience:
  • Working with homeless: in the community under bridges at shelters and in encampments
  • Assessments: Mental Health Psychosocial
  • Completion of Clinical Reminders
  • Case Management
  • Brief Supportive Psychotherapy Psychotherapeutic Intervention and Evidence Based Psychotherapy
  • Completion of C-SSRS CSRE and Safety Plans
  
  Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.
  
  Physical Requirements: Light lifting: under 15 pounds; straight pulling (up to 1 hour); pushing (1- 2 hours); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; walking (up to 3 hours); standing (up to 3 hours); repeated bending (up to 1 hour); ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision and far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required for depth perception; ability to distinguish basic colors ability to distinguish shades of colors hearing (aid permitted); climbing stairs; mentally alert; both legs required for operation of motor vehicle; and frequent keyboarding to operate a computer.
  Education

  IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
  
  Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges universities schools or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information visit: If your school has changed names or is no longer in existence you must provide this information in your application.
  
  NOTE: If your school was accredited at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the website you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

  Additional information

  Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
  
  During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
  
  This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
  
  This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
  
  VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38 and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
  
  If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
  
  Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations Security and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

  Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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